you are watching nhk news line. i'm in tokyo. we are waiting for defense minister who is about to hold a news conference to explain the helicopter operation to pour water on the reactor buildings at the fukushima daiichi power plant which has just been operated. right now you are looking at the defense ministry where there is about to be a press conference to explain the operation pouring water on the fukushima daiichi

power plant. two japan self defense forces helicopters have sprayed water on the reactor building at the fukushima daiichi power plant. tokyo police guard will use a water cannon truck to spray water from the outside to cool the storage fuel. each helicopter is capability of carrying 7.5 tons of sea water. the operation was held at around 9:48, 9:52, 9:54 a.m. and also 10:00 a.m. on thursday morning. due to radiation levels, though, the operation should be conducted from a minimum altitude and limited to 40 minutes per helicopter per day. on wednesday, a white plume was seen rising from a reactor building at the fukushima daiichi power plant. tokyo electric power company says water in a storage pool intended to cool spent fuel apparently evaporated from the vapor has the cooling system has not been working since the

quake. there is urgent need for cooling to stop the fuel from emitting hydrogen for possible explosion or meltdown. at 9:48 a.m., 9:52 a.m., 9:54 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. japan time on thursday, two japan self defense force helicopters have prayed water on the crippled number three reactor building at the fukushima daiichi power plant. each helicopter is cape able of carrying 7 poen 5 tons of sea water and they have sprayed it on the number three building at the fukushima daiichi power plant. due to the radiation levels it should be conducted from a minimum altitude and limited to 40 minutes per helicopter per day. we are waiting for the defense minister to hold a news conference to explain the helicopter operation that was just held about an hour ago pouring water, sea water on the reactor buildings at fukushima

daiichi power plant. on wednesday a white plume was seen rising from the fukushima daiichi power plant and they say water in a storage bowl intended to cool fuel has not been working since the quake. since there there's been urgent need for cooling those reactors to stop the fuel, emitting hydrogen for possible explosion or meltdown to japan's self defense force helicopters have sprayed water on the crippled number three reactor build agent the fukushima daiichi power plant. this was done by two helicopters at 9:48 a.m., 9:52 a.m., 9:54 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. japan time with sdf helicopters. each sprayed 7.5 tons of sea water on the number three

nuclear building at the fukushima daiichi power plant. we are waiting for the defense minister to hold a news conference but meanwhile we have a story here. the nuclear and industrial safety agency held a news conference on thursday morning to explain the details of the situation at the fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant. let's see that first. at fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant power supply was stopped at the time of quake. so, the plant has been out of power since the quake hit the region. so today, we are trying to restore the power supply using the power lines from outside and this is one of the high priority issues we have to address. of course, the top priority is to cool down the storage pool

for nuclear -- for spent nuclear fuels for number three, number four units. so the second priority is to restore power supply in part of this operation will start this afternoon. once we get power supply, and then we will be able to operate a cooling system using sea water. but it will take time to restore the function of the main part of the facilities because the pumps were contaminated by sea water and it must be repaired before -- so we have to install the makeshift -- or temporary pumps to resume supply of water. translator: so we will set

up a temporary cooling system, which is capable of operating with sea water. regarding number five unit, the level of water in the reactor is lowering and the pressure is rising. you can refer to this on your handout. so we have to prevent the same thing from happening for number five or number six units. we have to secure the healthy conditions of the storage pools for number five and number six units.

that is all the explanation i have to offer for reactor number one and two. as for the reactor in and of itself, we have been able to supply water from sea water. >> and that was the nuclear industrial safety agency's press conference. right now we are waiting for the defense minister to hold a news conference. at the defense ministry to explain the helicopter operation to pour water on the reactor buildings at the fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant which was operated at 9:48, 9:52, 9:54 and 10:00 a.m. japan time on thursday using two helicopters and they have each poured 7.5 tons of sea water on the crippled number three

reactor building at the fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant. and tokyo police said it will also use water cannon truck to spray water from the outside to cool the storage pool for nuclear fuel at the building. in this operation, due to radiation levels there, the operation should be conducted for a minimum of -- from a minimum altitude and limited to 40 minutes per helicopter per day. on wednesday a white plume was seen rising from are the building at t the fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant. they say water in a storage pool intented to cool fuel, apparently formed. as the cooling system has not been working sdins the earthquake. we are waiting for the defense minister to hold a press conference holding this spray and water operation on the number three reactor at fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant as we will get to the press conference as soon as it

starts. what has been happening right now is that at 9:48 a.m., 9:52 a.m., 9:54 and 10:00 a.m. japan time this morning on thursday, two sdf helicopters have been spraying sea water on number three reactor building at the fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant. there was urgent need for cooling to stop the fuel emitting hydrogen for possible explosion or meltdown. meanwhile, let me give you an update on what's been going on. about the meteorological agency's report about the winds in the area around the fukushima daiichi plant. it is blowing to the southeast towards the sea. and the agency forecasted that southeast ward winds will continue until friday afternoon local time and it says the winds will blow to the south after this. let me fwif you japan's

meteorological agency, says winds around the fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant are blowing to the southeast, toward the sea. the agency forecasted a southeast winds will continue in to friday afternoon local time. it says the winds will blow to the south after this. you are looking at the map of fukushima prefecture where the fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant is situated. a quick wrapup of what has been happening since saturday night. 28,000 people have evacuated their homes to other areas to avoid possible radiation from the fukushima daiichi i nuclear power plant. as of wednesday, 31,000 fukushima prefecture had accepted 28,152 evacuees in addition to those who had taken shelter in those move municipalities by saturday night. many temporary shelters in the prefecture were too crowded to accept the newcomers. at a shelter about 100 kilometer from the fukushima daiichi

nuclear power plant, 295 evacuees joined the 38 people who went there straight after the quake. some of the newcomers say they have to go there because the first shelter they went to was overcrowd. they say some have not received any radioactive screening tests. there are a number of people trying to evacuate to other prefectures is on the rise. they have 17 hotels for evacuees from fukushima to stay at. 26700 people have already taken shelter in narita. >> my home is 21 kilometers away. so i decided to come here. narita prefecture is providing evacuees with screening tests and health counseling services at four centers. at least 1,600 residents have

moved to yamagata prefecture. all of this is putting a financial markets being shaken up by the movements here in fukushima and elsewhere. now we switch over to ross at our business desk. what's the latest, ross? >> well, overseas markets, speculators are buying up the yen in anticipation of strong demand from domestic firms the currency roared to an all-time high against the dollar. the yen is trading at the 79 yen level. investors took their cue from a selloff of u.s. stocks on wall street and mounting concerns over the troubled nuclear power station in quake it this northeastern japan. trader also anticipated accelerated yen buying by japanese firms bidding to repatriot their overseas assets to boost reconstruction efforts back home. on the new york foreign exchange, the yen reached 76.25 yen per dollar at one point, smashing the previous high set

nearly 16 years ago in april 1995 by more than three yen. >> people are feeling nervous about the markets and it is a typical risk off day where the high interest rate currencies go down and the low currencies like the yen and swiss franc go up. as the news comes in, i think investors are trying to make up their mind as to how bad this will be and it is very uncertain right now. and i don't think we are getting nuf information to make good decisions. >> the momentum is carrying other to tokyo. here yen buying remains strong with the japanese currency trading above the 79 level. the yen is going for 79.440 to 49 per dollar. market sources say it will be under intense buying pressure for some time. although investors will be wary of whether the japanese government and the bank of japan may intervene in the currency

markets. japan's central bank has supplied funds for a fourth day to calm the financial markets in the wake of the massive quake and tsunami. the bank of japan injected 5 trillion yen or $62 billion in to the short-term money market. financial institutions need larger amounts of liquidity than usual to help with relief efforts. financial markets are unstable as the yen is urge surging to record high against the dollar. the stock markets are also plunging. the central bank has provided a total of $412 billion since monday. it plans to supply more money, if necessary. on the tokyo stock exchange, stocks are falling due to a big rise in the yen caused by the quake and ongoing problems at the fukushima daiichi power plant. here's emily wang with the latest. >> reporter: ross, the nikkei index broke below the key 9,000 mark again this morning as current yen levels are keeping the pressure on markets already

hit hard by the latest developments. the morning session, trading session just ended 50 minutes ago. the nikkei average closed the morning session at 8903. it is down over 2%. top ix is trading lower at 802. down 1.8%. shares are down in most sectors with major electronics manufacturers, as well as automakers trading lower once again. keep in mind, many japanese companies have assumed a dollar yen rate of around 80 level. so it could cut in to an export of profits. given that exports are a key driver of the economic recovery in japan, the yen's current levels could hurt not only the exporters but also japan's economic recovery. overall as investors become more nervous they are more risk averse and we could see volatile

moves in markets around the world. . on that note, back to you in the studio. ross? >> that was emily wang at the tokyo stock exchange. the g-7 nations will hold an emergency meeting of finance ministers and central bank governors to discuss the economic impact of japan's ongoing disaster and possible ways to offer aid. french finance minister said that the meeting to be held as early as wednesday is expected to focus on the possible im -- impact of the crisis on global growth and financial markets the disaster triggered plunges in stock markets worldwide. nicholas sarkozy called for a g-20 meeting of energy meeting to be held in several weeks to discuss future energy options for the world. his call came in response to growing anxiety in the international community over the safety of nuclear power

generation sparked by japan's nuclear plant crisis. french ecology and energy ministry said that her government is concerned about the risk the disaster could pose. >> we are following the situation minute after minute. >> that is all for now in biz news. right. we are waiting for defense minister's news conference. meanwhile let me give you an update of the numbers of the dead and missing from friday's massive quake and tsunami in northeastern japan which has exceeded 13,400. in miyagi prefecture, 244 deaths

have been confirmed. -- fukushima prefecture has confirmed 533 deaths and nearly 3,000 are missing. more than 336,000 people are in over 2,300 shelter unless the devastated prefectures. some of the shelters lack food and water and other essential supplies. relief efforts are hampered by a shortage of fuel for trucks and ambulances. on thursday morning, temperatures in some of the affected areas plunged below zero degrees celsius and snow has fallen there. fukushima prefecture says 14 hospital patients have died after evacuating to an emergency shelter. two reportedly died on a bus that was taken them to a high school for shelter on monday. 12 died after arriving there.

most of the patients were elderly and some were bedridden. the school principal says there are four medical staffers at the shelter but they have only minimum medical equipment. nhk world has a report from miyagi prefecture, one of the hardest hit areas. the recent cold weather is making it more difficult for survivors. >> reporter: it snowed all night in northern japan. a total of 8500 residents are in shelters in minami sanriku. at emergency shelters in the town, one of the items of dire need is fuel. you can also find evidence of the shortages at every gas station around this area. we actually saw hundreds and hundreds more, maybe more than 1,000 cars waiting in line at one gas pump. the line stretched over 5 kilometers. but not a single driver was

honking or making complaints. they were simply waiting calmly and silently. the mayor of minami sanriku made a plea on this specific point when he spoke to nhk early this morning. he said the town desperately needs more fuel for the very survival of its people. tomorrow will mark one week from the march 11th disaster. the mayor described it, it's going to be a very long battle. reporting from minami sanriku. >> we are waiting for the news conference to begin to explain the helicopter operation which poured water on the reactor building at the fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant. two self defense helicopters have sprayed water on the number three reactor building at the

fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant. and tokyo police will use water cannons to spray water from the outside to cool the storage pool for nuclear fuel at the building. meanwhile, let me give you the weather forecast now. on what has been give you an happening right now. at 9:48 a.m. and 52, 54, 10:00 a.m., sdf helicopters have sprayed sea water on the reactor buildings at the fukushima daiichi power plant. two japan self defense helicopters have sprayed water on the crippled number three reactor building at the fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant. a tokyo police guard will spray an operation soon using water cannon truck to cool the storage for nuclear fuel at the building. each helicopter is capable of carrying 7.5 tons of sea water. due to radiation levels there,

the operation should be conducted from a minimum altitude and limited to 40 minutes per helicopter per day. on wednesday, white plume was seen rising from near the reactor building at the fukushima daiichi power plant. the tokyo electric company says water in a storage cool intended to cool spent fuel apparently evaporated as the cooling system has not been working since the earthquake. we are right now waiting for defense minister to hold a news conference to explain the helicopter operation of pouring water on the reactor buildings at the power plant which was operated this morning at 9:48, 9:52, 9:54 and 10:00 a.m. japan time using sdf helicopters. each time spraying 7.5 tons of sea water. due to radiation levels there,

the operation should be conducted for a minimum altitude and limited to 40 minutes per helicopter day. on wednesday, a white plume was seen rising from near the reactor building at the fukushima daiichi power plant. there was urgent need for cooling to stop the fuel from emitting hydrogen for possible explosion or melt down. we are right now waiting for defense minister toshim toshimi kitazawa to explain the information. on number three reactor building spraying water to prevent hydrogen, emitting hydrogen for possible explosion or a meltdown. you are looking at the defense ministry press conference room at the moment. we are waiting for the defense minister to hold a news

conference hopefully soon to explain about the helicopter operation which poured 7.5 tons of water, four times this morning at an hour and a half ago. on fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant on reactor three. they are planning to start a spraying operation use a truck. we are waiting for defense minister to hold a news conference to explain the helicopter operation. .

due to radiation levels the operation should be conducted for a minimum altitude and limited to 40 minutes per helicopter day. you are looking at the operation footage taken one hour and a half ago at around 9:48 a.m. japan time where 7.5 tons of sea water was dumped four times on number three reactor building at the fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant. there is an urgent need for cooling those reactors to stop the fuel from emitting hydrogen for possible explosion or melt down. as soon as we have defense minister toshimi kitazawa for a news conference, we will get his explanation about the operation which took place about 90 minutes ago in fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant. you are now looking at the

footage taken at that time where 7.5 tons of sea water were dumped on number three reactor building at the fukushima daiichi nuclear power plant four times. due to radiation levels there, the operation had to be conducted from a minimum altitude and was limited to 40 minutes per helicopter per day. on wednesday, a white plume was seen rising from near the reactor building at the fukushima daiichi plant. tokyo electric company says water in a storage pool apparently evaporated from the cooling system. that has not been working since the earthquake. you are looking at the live scene from the defense ministry. we are about to have a press conference from defense minister toshimi kitazawa to explain what's been happening and what was the outcome of the

helicopter operation that was held about an hour and a half ago of pouring 7.5 tons of sea water on the reactor buildings at the fukushima daiichi power plant. we now have defense minister toshimi kitazawa with the latest. translator: thank you for kindly waiting. as you are already well aware, this morning, starting at 9:48 japan standard time, the self defense forces helicopter squad have been deployed. they have started aerial separations praying water on this re -- spraying water on to reactor number three. there after, in total there have

been four such operations conducted by air. a criteria has been satisfied. 4.13 millisieverts at